Blessed are the Merciful

Pastor Gary Oser

We have been considering the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12. The Beatitudes are brief statements made by Jesus beginning with the word “blessed” and ending with a promise. The Beatitudes do not tell us how to become a Christian, but rather what should characterize the life of a person who has trusted Christ for salvation and who loves the Lord.

The fifth beatitude found in Matthew 5:7 says simply, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” If we are going to understand this beatitude, we must first understand mercy.

First, mercy is something which can be exercised only to the undeserving. If it were deserved, it would not be mercy. Second, mercy is more than just a feeling. Mercy goes beyond just feeling badly for a person to doing something in a practical way to help.

One good example of showing mercy might be the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. You probably know the account well. A man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was robbed, beaten and left along the side of the road half dead. Three people came upon the man—a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan.

The first two may have felt sorry for the man, but they didn’t do anything about it. They just kept going down the road. However, the Samaritan was so moved with compassion that he acted on behalf of the man. He bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn and paid to have him properly cared for. The Samaritan is a great example of what it means to be merciful.

What does this beatitude promise to the one who is merciful towards others? The last words of verse 7 say, “…for they shall obtain mercy.” To say it very simply, if we show mercy to others, then we can expect to receive mercy from God. As Galatians 6:7 tells us, we will reap what we sow. If we sow mercy, we will reap mercy, i.e. God will be merciful to us.

If we have received from God undeserved and unlimited mercy which cancels a debt that we could never pay ourselves, shouldn’t we graciously be willing to extend undeserved and unlimited mercy to others?

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy,” Matthew 5:7.